Walk to Remember 2008

Some of you may be aware that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. In the United States and in New Brunswick, Canada, October 15th is the official Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. The rest of the provinces have not yet made it official, but that does not stop us from acknowledging the occasion.

For the second year in a row, I have organized a Walk to Remember along with a couple other people. The purpose of the walk is to just gather together in a unified manner to remember our children gone too soon. If we happen to spread a little awareness in the process, then that's a bonus.

This year's walk was held on October 4, 2008. We chose this date because the Canadian Thanksgiving is the following weekend, and, well, quite frankly, after that it's not entirely uncommon to begin our winter season.

The weather was beautiful on Saturday with the sun shining brightly. A cool breeze was blowing but not so much that it would prevent anyone from spending time outside.

We started off with a little memorial with a few poems, a moment of silence and the readings of the babies names.

Then we went for our walk, which took about 20 minutes. We walked down the roadway until we got to the path leading to the flower gardens. From there we walked over and around the duck pond (which really should be called a Geese Pond!) , through a parking lot, into the forest, past the playground and back to our starting point.

After the walk, we handed out prizes and served cake and coffee to our participants.

All in all, it was a success, and several people said they look forward to returning again next year. That just makes it all worth it.

Our children shall never be forgotten. I love you, Babybear.

Here are a couple photos:

passing the flower gardens
(out of photo range)

going around the duck pond